Stock futures lower ahead of Slovak vote

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday after a strong rally in the prior session as investors awaited the results of a key vote by Slovakia on expanding the euro zone rescue fund.

* With all the other member states having ratified a pact to boost the size and powers of the European Financial Stability Facility bailout fund, all eyes turned to Slovakia.

* That government was forced to turn to opposition parties to push through a deal in parliament after the ruling party said it would abstain from a vote on a deal intended to contain the Greek debt crisis.

* Any more delays could unhinge markets already under pressure from signs the crisis was spilling beyond Greece's borders.

* Potentially adding to the nervous climate, Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, said the debt crisis has become systemic and risks to the economy were increasing rapidly with Europe's banks in the danger zone.

* S&P 500 futures fell 5.4 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 34 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 6.5 points.

* Investor will shift focus to the start of the earnings season, with results due from aluminum major Alcoa Inc after the closing bell. Earnings season could offer insight on the extend of the damage from a global economic slowdown.

* Sony Corp <6758.T> sees little cheer in the coming holiday shopping season amid global consumer gloom and has few options to cope with the euro's tumble against the yen, its chief financial officer said in an interview.

* U.S. regulators were set to give nervous insurance companies, mutual funds and other big financial players a better idea of whether they will be tapped for the same type of additional government scrutiny faced by large U.S. banks.

* European shares fell Tuesday morning, snapping a four-day rally ahead of the Slovak vote, and Asian shares rose after China moved to support its stock market by buying shares of major banks.

* U.S. stocks jumped 3 percent on Monday after a pledge by German and French leaders to come up with a plan to tackle the debt crisis, lifting the S&P 500 above its 50-day moving average for the first time since late July, a bullish technical signal.